Dongguan’s Sex Trade Is Back
Posted: 10/24/2014 9:00 am
A woman walks past a banner that reads, “crack down on prostitution, gambling and drugs”.
Dongguan’s sex trade has proven to be more resilient than originally thought. The city, which has been targeted in a large-scale sweep over the past eight months, appears to have its mojo back.
Sixty people were arrested following raids on two of the city’s “entertainment venues” on Houjie Street: Junhao Hotel KTV and Dongcheng Shengshi Gechao KTV, both of which were offering sexual services. Their business licenses have already been suspended for six months.
The arrests come just two months after the city’s massage parlours, saunas, and hotels reopened for business after a massive clean-up, which followed CCTV’s exposé on the city’s rampant sex trade in mid-February. It alleged that the sex-trade contributed 10 percent to the city’s GDP.
Since being allowed to reopen, 2,684 entertainment operators, or 80 percent of the city’s entertainment businesses, have signed a pledge promising not to provide services related to gambling, drugs and prostitution.
In July, Guangdong province also introduced a series of detailed new regulations aimed at prohibiting the “vice trade”, including banning dim lights and private rooms. Evidently, the measures have proven to be of little use.
Photos: SCMP
Meet China’s Hugh Grant Sex Scandal Counterpart, Huang Haibo
Posted: 05/19/2014 5:12 pmYes, a puritan double standard may be held for China’s most famous, but it seems to be excused for certain people—people like Huang Haibo.
Huang was arrested by police after he was caught with a prostitute at a Beijing hotel. And despite the scandal, the media and netizens remain very loyal to him: one figure puts Huang’s support as high as 80% (if one can put the internet into a percentage).
Huang apologized immediately for his actions, and it’s been readily accepted. Friends of Huang have defended him by saying he was drunk at the time of the incident, while some Weibo comments have suggested Huang was framed, as someone as rich as him “won’t require to rent a hotel room for the solicitation of sex”.
We’re not quite sure if being drunk is an adequate excuse, but maybe any talk about Huang is presumptuous without talking about what he does for a living: being liked, and getting paid for it
If you’re not familiar with the popular actor, then you won’t be aware his fame originated from starring on Hey, Let’s Get Married as “Guo Ran”, the ideal perfect husband.
Readers would also not know that Guo Ran is considered the model husband by which men should pattern themselves after: a completely loyal, docile man who never expresses anger or really any personal opinions at all.
So is the scandal justified? Is it okay to excuse unmarried bachelors like Huang for having specific needs while ridiculing others?
As China’s equivalent of the Hugh Grant sex scandal (minus the transsexual and the smoking hot wife), we’re probably going to see more forgiveness awarded to this guy for every mistake that he makes. For our part, we hope Huang gives back in China’s upcoming versions of Four and a Half Weddings and Tropic Thunder.
Photo: Guan News, Baike, sohu